Nerf Sentry Gun for the Apocalypse

If you’ve ever wanted to shoot someone with a Nerf gun, but just didn’t have the energy to get off the couch, this hack may be for you. It’s also a good way to ward off zombies if another apocalypse, Mayan or otherwise, is on the horizon.

Although the effects are very cool, as seen in the video after the break, the method for making this setup was quite simple. The requirements for this project were that the gun could not be permanently modified, and everything had to fire automatically. These restrictions may have contributed to the simplicity of the design as many of us would start breaking things before we had to.

Instead of some elaborate hack, the trigger was tied back in the firing position at all times. A relay was then used to interrupt the power supply to the mechanism allowing an Arduino equipped with an infrared sensor to automatically control the firing. The setup is explained after the break, but skip to around 1:55 if you’d rather just see the guns in action.

Couldn’t we skip the Arduino? I mean the PIR sensor can trigger a transistor to turn the relay on. Rate of fire could be done with a 555? I can see the arduino being there if it was rigged to some servos or something.

Nice build/idea though. I been wanting to build my own Nerf gun lately with maybe some C02 or something.

I suppose it depends on whether or not you’re proficient at coding an Arduino.

There are no calculations to be had using an Arduino and figuring out which resistors to use with a 555 can be annoying. I’d much rather use an Arduino and have the ability to add functionality at a later time.

If you’re proficient at doing the necessary math in C to bang this out, you’re more than capable of learning LC circuits and how a 555 works.

Processor overkill/i-have-a-hammer-and-now-I-only-see-nails is a huge problem for the current Arduino community in my opinion, and one big reason why I distance myself from the community at large, despite being in charge of projects that would be in-scope. Everybody just wants to throw an Atmel at everything.

Wait a sec! Zombies are roaming cold blooded cadavers while the motion sensor you are using is a PIR sensor which is triggered by warm-bodied objects. So zombies can walk in and out and the PIR sensor won’t complain. Sorry body. You are zombie snack.